Persona 5: Nightmares in Reality
by Free Flow Highway
Summary: The Phantom Thieves have always punched above their weight and grew stronger for it. Yet a greater threat than they could dream of notices of them. Having been caught in between a conflict unknown to them, our party suffers from the crossfire, unaware of the true purpose of their powers. Now they face a being feared even by monsters. The Hellspawn. Warning: Body Horror and Gore


Akira wakes up once again in the jail cell that is his inner prison. The Velvet Room. He gets up from his bed and looks around before reeling back in surprise.

"Wakey, wakey, lil' jailbird. I was hopin' t' catch ya. Hope this isn't too bad of a time?"

A putrid man of great obesity sits on the toilet in his cell with his two stumpy legs spread wide. One of his large arms scratching his groin without as much as a second though. His face wrinkled from a crazed stretched sneer. Menacing face paint similar to a clown only adds to the unsettling atmosphere, as well as a balding head, hair just above his ears only extenuate the circus theme. However his clothes would only belong to that of a homeless man in a worn outfit far too small for him.

"Quiet, ain'tcha? I hope ya ain't gawkin' at my impressive physique cause yer interested. I ain't exactly a faggot now."

He hops off the toilet and leans dangerously close into the young Fool's face.

"Then again... You're jus' pretty enough t' pass as a girl.~"

He licks his lips with an inhuman tongue. Saliva splatters against Akira's face which has him jump from his bed in disgust.

"Don't like me, huh? **Good.** I ain't th' one ya gotta worry about though. You an' yer a-"

He coughs politely, his red eyes soften with his voice as he adopts a mocking tone twiddling his thumbs.

"_Merry Band of Costumed Rejects_."

He breaks his tone entering into a small fit of giggles.

"Sorry, yer group is just ridiculous lookin'. Anyhow, they're all on a hit list made by yours truly. Y'see, th' one you know as Igor made some mistakes, an' he's throwin' your friends under th' bus fer it. Now, he made a wager as we demons tend t' do. 'Ere's where you come in."

The Clown paces to and fro in front of Akira who watches in irritated silence.

"Y'see I got my own lil' phantom o' mine that does th' good Lord Satan's work. Jus' like you idiots! Thing is, yer mastah has gone an' betrayed my mastah."

He looks at Akira with a gaze that gives the boy an intense headache. The Fool falls to a knee grasping his head in agony as he hears a subtle yet threatening whisper inside his head.

"**There's at least ten violations he's committed.**"

The voice of the Clown returns with the casual crude light pitch of the vile dwarf.

"That's countin' yer pussy cat mind ya."

Akiria looks up at him with a glare of his own.

"His name is Morgana."

The Clown scoffs and spits on the bed as he pulls his pants up.

"He ain't shit so why would I bother learnin' that! Listen, I'm a fair guy, I came t' tell ya about it an' everythin'. In fact... I'm here t' give you an' yer friends an' out."

He holds his hand out to Akira before chopping the chain binding his hands apart. They evaporate in a dissipating blue flame

"Freedom from a shithole like this place... Freedom from this lil' game ya found yerself in... With th' powers to finish what ya started without any interference."

Akira looks to his cell door open, yet remains inside as he stares at the empty desk, shaking his head in refusal.

"I can't abandon Igor and my Wardens."

The Clown pulls him down by his shirt to glare into the pale boy's eyes.

"Ya got some strong ass Stockholm Syndrome there, kid! Ya really wanna be loyal to someone who's been lyin' to ya from th' start?"

"If he's told me lies then I don't want to hear the truth from you."

The two stare each other down until The Clown shrugs.

"Aight. Have it yer way. Jus' remember that my hand is outstretched an' open for ya in case ya change yer mind. Or ya can die. Either way I win."

"We'll see about that."

Clown lowers his head as the back of his body shifts abnormally as if something inside his body is growing too big and about to burst. Blood sprays from the fleshy carcass as living nightmare emerges. A malformed beast towers over him in the tight confines of his cell. His back against shadowed walls, illuminated only by the shimmering hate-filled eyes of crimson. An elongated mouth, the jaws similar to a crocodile's, drool with anticipation as it's foul breath singes Akira's nose.

**"Say goodbye to having a normal life. You have entered your own personal Hell."**

The monster bites down on his body. He can feel it as all goes black within the maw of the beast. His chest and upper torso, his back and ribs, crushed and ripped apart by the ferocious fangs.

* * *

Akira wakes up in a cold sweat screaming. Morgana jumps with yelling before shouting at his roommate angrily.

"Hey! Don't just freak out like that! W-Whoa...! A-Are you bleeding!?"

They both look down at his blood stained shirt. Hastily, Akira takes it off, finding the bite mark left by the demonic beast. His only solace is that the wounds themselves are not deep but only plentiful in fangs. That day, the Phantom Thieves would have their meeting, and their leader told them all about his nightmare. Akechi is the first to speak.

"A demon did that to you in a dream... Something of that nature is akin to a comic book. It's far too strange and yet you showed us the wound too."

Yusuke nods with a serious face.

"Our leader isn't the type to lie. Despite how fantastical this all sounds it sounds too dangerous to ignore."

Haru looks between the faces of the group worried.

"C-Could it be that the one we're searching for, the black mask, is the one this demon is sending after us?"

Ann plays with her hair poorly hiding her concern.

"We didn't even do anything but it feels like we're being punished again. First being framed and now this..."

Ryuji shakes his head frowning.

"This is bullshit! How'd we even end up in this mess?! We even got a plan for this kind of crazy shit?"

Makoto shoots a glare at him that quiets him down.

"Nightmares aside, we have other matters to attend to, don't we? I say we deal with what he have on our plates now and worry later."

Futaba taps away on her laptop while Morgana sits in her lap.

"I totally agree with our strategist here. We don't have time to be distracted!"

"Busy or not, our leader was attacked in reality and that can't go ignored!"

Akira stands rubbing his neck sighing.

"We're going to Mementos today. There are still requests to be done. We can't ignore the people in need. Whatever we face ahead we will overcome. Let's go."

* * *

The Phantom Thieves ride together in the depths of Mementos. As they travel about the dark subterranean, Noir meekly speaks up.

"Everyone... I keep thinking back to the words from that clown... Is our work as Phantom Thieves really for, demons?"

Crow shakes his head.

"I admonish such thoughts. What we do can't benefit something that doesn't exist. I believe we're being targted by other Persona Users."

Queen glances at Crow in the rear view mirror.

"Would you say that this black masked figure has friends?"

"More like that it may be multiple people acting under one alias, not unlike the Phantom Thieves."

Skull scoffs halfway through eating a plate of curry prepared for their journey.

"As if! Besides, demon or whatever, nothin' is gonna stop us now! We're in too deep into th' shit to lose or quit."

Mona sighs as he's turned down a darker path than usual.

"Ever the crude Neanderthal, Skull. Even when right... Hey, I can't see ahead. Like, at all."

Queen stops the truck as Oracle starts typing on her holographic keyboard.

"This doesn't look good. Maybe we should turn back for now."

"It's a dead end anyways. Not even any treasure, what a bust."

The crew turn around only to be met with a bright glow of green before the truck is launch off the ground. It poofs away as Mona in his true form falls with a squeak with the rest of the disoriented party. The flapping of drapes, the rattling of chains, and the sound of a gun being loaded all take their attention as they look to the origin of the blast.

**"Phantom Thieves of Hearts. I've come for you. We can do this your way or my way."**

A tower of a man in all black tight costume stands before them. A crimson shroud flows on it's own as if alive with malicious intent. Chains flow out from under like snakes approaching prey. A black mask with white sharp "M" over both neon green eyes that burn with contempt.

The Phantom Thieves all stand before Joker pulls his pistol out.

"How kind of you to give us a choice. Here's my answer."

He pulls the trigger and it sounds... But nothing comes of it. He fires again as the figure approaches only for him to be completely unaffected. Not even so much as an effect of a bullet missing or bouncing off of him.

**"That's not a real gun. Your weapons only work, if the surrounding consciousness perceives it as real, and right now I am that consciousnesses. I know those weapons of yours are fake."**

Skull rushes after him with Panther as the growl.

"You want to test that out with these, creep?!"

"These are real enough to bash your head in, asshole!"

Panther falters after lashing her whip out as it's caught by the chain. It pulls her to the figure before she vanishes behind his crimson cape. Skull is blown back as the man sends a backhand breaking the pipe. A chain wraps around his leg before pulling him into the vast red as well.

**"We're doing it my way then."**

The shroud parts revealing a skull on his waist, the origin of the chains as they slither out the mouth, spiked bracers on his arms and a high power pistol in hand. It glows green before he fires, a streak of energy lingers in the air before a cry sounds in these empty tunnels, Fox stumbles back holding his side bleeding profusely.

"A-Ah! I-I can't move...!"

He falls to a knee as the masked terror aims the gun at Joker.

**"Make this easier for us both and keep still."**

He fires again but to his own surprise Joker remains unharmed. Arsene's wing blocks the bullets. The mental image of Joker's power, his Persona, rises ready to strike down this hellish foe. Oracle shouts out to stop him.

"Joker! Wait! Don't use Ar-!"

Arsene launches a fierce attack, a red and black energy of sheer dark mass, blasting the target with full-force. Joker's eyes widen immediately as he watches the masked man walk right through it. Oracle taps her goggles scanning him.

"Guys, I've been scanning for a second him now! Stay alive until then!"

Joker stares down this daunting foe before he feels a sting in his shoulder. The inhuman assassin fires his gun at Arsene itself. He straightens his arm and fires once more.

Arsene's head is blown apart and fades, leaving Joker with a mind shattering headache, even his body begins to feel heavy from sheer exhaustion.

By the time he regained his focus he is face to face with his soon-to-be-killer. His hate-filled eyes now wide in confusion looking at Joker's now bare face. The mask gone, it dawns on him then as he looks at the others.

**"You... I knew you all were just a bunch of kids...!"**

He catches Queen's thrown fist before pulling her into his cape. Oracle shouts out then

"Scan complete! This guy... He's unreal! I've never read power like this before! The only thing he's weak to at all is holy! Crow-!"

She's interrupted with Joker's body being thrown at her. The leader of the Phantom Thieve's head practically rings church bells from the punch he received. Despite this, Crow obliges and summons his Persona: Robin Hood, firing a golden bolt of divine energy.

An inhuman scream comes from the cape-clad terror as he stumbles back in pained fury. Robin Hood then fires a barrage of holy rain upon his target. When light dies down he's no longer there.

"Target has been neutralized. Hopefully we'll find the others-"

He stops caught in a wheeze before gagging for air. The ebony claws wrap around his neck from behind as the unstoppable man lifts Akechi off the ground.

**"She wasn't wrong about her analysis. You're just not the real deal."**

Everyone had expected him to take Crow into his cape as he did the others. However, he doesn't, and instead decides to strangle the ivory clad detective to the point of his face turning purple.

Blood trickles down from his claws digging into his flesh. Were it not for Noir's interference by striking her ax onto the assailant's skull he would have killed Crow.

Crow falls to the ground gasping while Noir struggles to pull her ax out of the masked man's grasp.

**"You shouldn't have done that."**

"W-What did you do to our friends!"

**"They're alive. For now. You're all just a bunch of kids without any idea what you've stepped into."**

He breaks her ax with his crushing grip before his chains take her into his cape as well. Mona turns into a car once again with Joker pulling Oracle and Crow into him.

"Hurry! Hurry! Start me up and let's get outta here!"

**"There's no need for that."**

Joker's eyes widen as he drops Crow. Oracle shrieks as she sees the bloodstain growing from his chest. The pistol from before is real, and even without the strange green power given to it, like any gun a bullet can end a life in an instant. As his eyes begin to grow heavy from both blood loss and exhaustion he hears Futaba's screams a final time.

* * *

"Hey, wake up already."

Akira slowly opens his eyes before sitting up with a jolt. He's in his attic at Leblanc, Mona standing on his lap, but his voice wasn't the one he heard. He looks to the side to a tall bald black man in a casual attire sitting in a chair not to far away from him.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty."

"Who are you?"

Morgana exclaims ecstatically hopping into Akira's chest.

"He saved us! You shoulda seen it! I thought you were dead-"

Immediately, before Akira can react, he saunters away poorly hiding his worry and relief behind a dismissive façade.

"I mean you can't die yet anyways! It wouldn't fit the leader of the Phantom Thieves."

The black man glances at the cat.

"So I was right after all..."

He stands up and bows politely.

"Sorry about appearing so suddenly. I couldn't give the proper formalities when dealing with the Hellspawn. I'm Al."

Akira nods at him albeit with a skeptical expression.

"How much do you know, Al-san."

"Enough to know you're out of your league. These aren't humans you're dealing with anymore. You and your friends were attacked by a Hellspawn. Monsters ripped out of legends."

"Sounds scary."

"A lot of them aren't shit. This one? Borderline unstoppable."

Akira looks to Morgana with a raised brow. The cat shakes his head.

"Sorry... This is my first time hearing about these things too. Al here apparently hunts them though!"

Al stares between them both remaining mostly stoic.

"They're a dime a dozen. There's a lot going on in the background of the world that would be too much to explain all in one sitting. Just know that unlike what you're used to? The Hellspawn isn't stuck in the Metaverse like your other worries. I bet he only spared you because you're kids."

Akira looks around for his phone and finds it on next to his pillow. He checks the group chat and sure enough there were several messages he missed. He then felt something heavy fall onto his lap as Morgana gasped. A real gun had been tossed onto him.

"Get your shit together and pick that up. I'm going to teach you and all your pals how to kill a Hellspawn. It's kill or be killed now, kid."

Akira reaches for it and admits to himself... He's used to the weight of the model guns and this was certainly similar. Yet somehow, that thing he faced could tell it wasn't, and now here he is with the real deal.

"I don't think I'll take you up on that. We have our own way of doing things. Thank you for your assistance."

Al shrugs before taking the gun back.

"Sure. Get better soon."

He pockets the weapon and makes his way for the stairs. He stops to say one last thing.

"By the way... Each Hellspawn has a guide or mentor of a kind. The one for this one is a clown called the Violator. If you see him? Run."

Akira 's own face pales for a moment. He gets out of bed quick before the foreigner can leave.

"Wait! The Violator! What is he!?"

Al stares at Akira with eyes knowing he too has seen the true form of the beast. He takes the gun out and tosses it to him again.

"Unlike Spawn, Violator won't spare you, and he never plays fair. I'll be around kid."

Akira stares at the gun in his hands. In any normal circumstance he would've thrown it away, sold it off to Iwai if he'd take it, get rid of it in any way he could. After tonight? He isn't so sure. Despite Morgana's protesting he simply can't find it in himself to sleep for the rest of the night.


End file.
